I just finished reading Fritz Lieber's Swords against Deviltry and Parsival or a Knight's Tale by Richard Monaco. Two very different novels - actually Deviltry is three novellas - and two very different approaches to fantasy.
I've always been a Lieber fan. He approaches his subject with a sence of humour and a slight irreverence. The protagonists Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser are probably tow of the most interesting and likable characters in the sword and sorcery genre.
This was teh first novel by Monaco I had read and it did little for me. He had some interesting takes on the Arthurian legends but the overall style and delivery left me cold. The novel seemed to wallow in the sheer awfulness of everything. I don't mind grim and gritty, I enjoyed Joe Abercrombie but you need a certain levity or it becomes a depressing trudge
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